Conclusion

SBK-09: Superbike World Championship is a title worth mentioning, which makes the series become popular on all major platforms. Its good graphics, up-to-date teams, tracks and bikes and the extreme simulation level makes it a veridical experience that has no comparison at this moment. There are still graphical issues to be fixed in a new SBK-10 game, but until then, this version is the best out there.

Gameplay: 81

There are not many things to say about a sports game, especially a racing game. Either it is good or not. SBK-09 is included in the first category featuring a deep realism in terms of physics that will make you play the game over and over again. For the ones that are not used with simulation games, there is also an arcade setting where you don't have to bother about the dynamics of the bike, but you still have to pay attention and to drive carefully not to fall down. The addition of all official teams, bikes, riders and sponsors makes the game the most authentic Superbike experience, and as a bonus the game features also a Challenges mode where you can try out any track or bike by completing different tasks in order to improve you driving skills (wheelies at their best!).

Graphics: 85

SBK-09 features a whole new graphical engine that improved the overall image a lot. There has been an immense work put into recreating the tracks and there correspondent environment, giving a high level of details to the bikes, riders, close commercials, pit lanes, etc. The problem is that the sky and the "far" objects have low textures creating a deserted ambiance on some of the tracks. Rain has not been forgotten, and makes its presence with lots of drops falling on you helmet's visor, and long showers that spring out from the back tire.

Multiplayer: 75

You will get the same modes in the multiplayer. Quick Race and Championship have the same structure and are similar to the ones in the singleplayer, but with the addition of Team Championship the replayability of the game is increased. In this mode you can play with players on the same side as you, trying to win the championship as a team. The simulation side and the tweaks available at the pit-area are not present anymore in the multiplayer, allowing the players to play like in an arcade racing game, hitting their opponents to get a better position. Matches can be created and customized by any host, but you have to be patient in order for someone to join your game. The most crowded multiplayer sessions can be found on XBOX Live, due to the networks popularity. With the PC version tested in this article, I was unable to find someone online.

Sound: 80

I always considered that racing games should have no in-game soundtrack. The beauty of the engines' sound should be always on top priority for the developers, but most of these games feature also a soundtrack just for the sake of commercialism. SBK-09 makes no exception featuring a mix of rock and techno tunes. The playlist is not long so the game uses a 'heavy rotation' function to repeat the tunes. In the end I was forced to completely shut down the music because it was getting unbearable. Probably commentaries like in FIFA series would have been a great addition and a step forward in creating a real image of a TV broadcast.

Hardware:  79

Compared to SBK-08, this year's title runs better, with much shorter loading times. Unfortunately the loading times between the main menu and the in-game are still long without a reason.  Some flickering moments at the pit-lane have been also encountered along the test.